Monday, July 21, 2008

Save our Wild Salmon

The fishing's been excellent! Tricos are hatching daily on Silver Creek by the billion, the fish are hungry and accessible on the Wood, and the brookies are jumping on anything in Copper Basin. The Kokanee should start running any day on the Lost as well.

Though the fishing couldn't be better, I've had the most fun going to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery to watch the Chinook Salmon completing their 909 mile journey from the ocean. These fish are huge...and gorgeous. Because of dams and other ridiculousness caused by man, just a few thousand fish are able to complete this journey up the Salmon River.

The determination of the chinook (and other anadromous fish) to swim upstream is unrivaled and it awesome to see. It was unbelievably sad to see them make their last leaps into a hatchery instead of clear gravel spawning beds.